Mobility-as-a-Service

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) is a mobile device management platform intended to provide mobile workers with anytime and anywhere access to applications and data. It provides IT administrators with everywhere control of mobile devices, applications and data. A spin off of SaaS, MaaS was born in 2008 in an effort to provide mobility, visibility and control of mobile endpoints in the cloud.
Concept
MaaS delivers an enterprise mobility platform using the cloud based infrastructure. It is the hybrid combination of infrastructure elements, operations tools, security applications and other components that can work together to deploy, manage and monitor mobile devices, data and users. Like SaaS, MaaS is implemented by shifting the responsibility of the enterprise’s mobile infrastructure and management system to the service provider. It intends to eliminate the njeed for additional hardware and staff; yet, it accelerates the implementation of a mobility platform and increases user productivity by increasing reliability, scalability, and security.
The internet based architecture provides transparency into mobile device usage and location of the user. It allows updating, controlling, and reporting on devices that are off the corporate network. Thus, MaaS applications require no ongoing maintenance from the IT organization because they are self-updating and self-maintaining.
Some of the common deliverables of a MaaS platform may be Asset management, patch and upgrade management, license management, data protection, security compliance, unified endpoint management, tracking and reporting of mobile devices, backup and recovery, remote data delete.
History
The concept of “Mobility as a service” started to circulate with the proliferation of the mobile devices and their data in the cloud in 2008.
Since 2006, enterprise mobility has been prevalent in the industry. According to Forrester Research, some 73% of the global enterprise workforce will be mobile users by 2012. As businesses embrace mobility to stay competitive, productive and meet the employee demands, the enterprise mobility has a few drawbacks as well. Workers often have difficulty connecting to the corporate network or the Internet securely and conveniently. Once they do connect, data downloaded to the notebook hard drive is vulnerable to theft or loss. This is called mobile blind spot. These ‘out of sight’ devices raise concerns about their security and compliance status. Moreover, the application platforms must support multiple mobile offerings and their associated networks.
This calls for a need of a mobile device management platform to address the escalating challenges of mobility. Cloud-based infrastructure offerings and the myriad "as a service" offerings allows a corporate to deploy and manage complex technologies in an easy, economical and efficient manner. Cloud, SaaS and mobility are trying to make the boundary free enterprise a reality. Mobility as a Service exploits the advantages of both cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service(SaaS) to deliver an enterprise mobility infrastructure and its operations.
Mobility as a Service has been deployed in different domains to provide users any time, anywhere access to applications and data. Fiberlink Communications Corporation has implemented the Mobility as a Service solution to develop an Enterprise Mobility Platform that gives mobile workers access to their applications and data. Simultaneously, it provides an IT administrator everywhere control of mobile devices, applications, and data. Verticals onDemand has launched VMobile software for Life Sciences Company. This MaaS based on-demand mobile application delivers anywhere access to data with zero maintenance costs. Jade Communications provides Mobility as a Service solution in public sector applications to raise productivity and efficiency, cut out paperwork, and reduce cost.
Factors driving adoption
Continued globalization has led to an increased requirement for secure, high-performance and application-enabled networking. Companies today are strategically connecting to partners, suppliers and customers around the world to optimize efficiency and reduce business costs.
The ‘green’ initiative is helping to drive the uptake of mobility services. Going mobile not only helps a corporation to save money but also reduces a mobile worker’s carbon footprint. A November 2007 MonsterTRAK survey found that 92% of young professionals want to work for an environmentally friendly company, and 80% would like a job that has a direct positive impact on the environment.
Remote access solutions, encompassing a variety of broadly available access methods and devices, and underpinned by sound security practices, are important building blocks of an overall enterprise mobility strategy. They allow companies to deliver a flexible work place environment, increase productivity and achieve a wide range of corporate objectives. Employees also benefit from a better work/life balance by not having to invest time in long unwanted commutes. Additionally, by using appropriate remote work strategy and solutions, enterprises can also carve out a disaster recovery plan to handle an unforeseen event.
The enterprise IT department constantly face the challenge of deploying, updating and managing the multiple mobile access devices (and their attendant networks) and IT resources. Organizations require a robust device management and security platform to ensure that the mobile endpoints are secure and in compliance with the various security compliance bodies and organization policies.
IDC estimates 60% or more of corporate data now resides on laptops or could be downloaded from PCs. When working remotely, a lot of sensitive data is exposed at many points along the path in the cloud. Thus, organizations are looking for security solutions to balance data protection and user productivity.
Key characteristics
The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) offer guidelines to simplify connectivity and improve systems management and security for a mobile environment. In its publication User's Guide to Securing External Devices for Telework and Remote Access (NIST Special Publication 800-114), NIST recommends the basic principles of good security for telework devices. Listed below are the key characteristics of Mobility as a Service:
# Available Everywhere:The cloud-based nature of MaaS addresses the Internet everywhere reality. It enables user productivity and IT controls anywhere, anytime—free of the boundary of the corporate perimeter.
# Provides Universal Connectivity and Access Controls: It simplifies connectivity for end users by providing a single, secure, universal user experience, supported by a single identity management and mobile access control capability for IT.
# Support for all Devices: A MaaS platform provides the tools to manage all desktops, laptops, and handheld devices.
# Support for any Application: No single vendor can provide all the technologies needed to create an enterprise mobility platform. The MaaS platform is a single production image that integrates infrastructure and security applications from multiple vendors.
# Ensures Endpoint and Data Security: The hardware and software settings and configurations of the mobile devices should be controlled to prevent unauthorized or undesired changes or compromise. A MaaS solution provides enterprise-grade endpoint and data security to all mobile assets no matter where they are located and how they are connected. Data is protected through different techniques like encryption, backup and authorization validation.
# Simplifies User Experience: The MaaS solution is transparent to end users. End users receive seamless system compliance, automated remediation and support and a simple, single way to connect to any network.
# Consolidated Operations and Reporting: The mobility management platform lessens the IT department’s administrative burden of management and control of mobile devices. On-demand reporting is available to Operations, Security, Audit, and Compliance teams to assess and monitor the health and policy compliance posture of mobile endpoints.
# Improves Risk Management and Cost: A MaaS solution eliminates the mobile security blind spot. The MaaS platform builds, implements and maintains policies and procedures that are enforced even when the device is off the corporate network. Patches and software updates are delivered promptly to reduce vulnerabilities and enhance productivity. Any updates that are not issued in accordance with corporate policy are blocked. Compromised or suspected mobile devices can be isolated from the corporate network until the risk can be mitigated to prevent further harm to the business.
Implementation
An enterprise mobility platform addresses the challenges associated with mobility by consolidating operations, security, and management into one platform. The management infrastructure must be extensible to accommodate future mobile devices, networks, management best practices, and compliance regulations. Mobile enterprise platforms enable an open and extensible architecture that can adapt to back-end system changes and growing mobile application development. It provides support across a broad set of mobile users, devices, and growing array of mobile device platforms. Additionally, the mobility management platform should integrate seamlessly with the existing model and decrease back-end infrastructure and its associated management.
Organizations seek a robust and cost-effective platform to address IT security and management concerns and end-user productivity and usability requirements. The MaaS platform provides IT administrators a simple and user friendly administration of a global connectivity infrastructure.
The MaaS platform examines endpoint security, connectivity and productivity. It is important that a mobile user in the cloud remains secure while simultaneously having a seamless connection to corporate resources. A centralized console provides visibility and control of what is happening outside the immediate environment of the corporate network. The software, hardware, data and connectivity options on remote devices can be centrally managed though policies.
Businesses need a deployment platform to deploy multiple applications efficiently to heterogeneous devices. The MaaS platform not only offers heterogeneous deployments but also offers the flexibility to deploy on demand. This flexibility is crucial because it allows enterprises to maximize ROI and ensure the most effective delivery of the software solution to workers. MaaS deliverables reduce administrative costs, improve security, and boost user productivity. They improve an organization's risk management posture by reducing gaps in the overall management solution.

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